Generally, commercial aircraft use a conventional seat belt restraint mechanism which restrains the passenger in the seat. The current method for restraining passengers is a participatory process in which passengers are told when to latch seat belts by the flight attendants. Passengers also receive auditory and visual signals when to latch seat belts, i.e. during takeoff and during landing. Additionally, passengers are told when they can release their seat belt mechanism by the same aforementioned means. The current procedure, in being a participatory method, does not allow the flight attendants and/or pilots to be alerted as to which passengers are not restrained by their respective seat belt mechanism and/or when such restraint is compromised. With the current seat belt arrangement, passengers can lock and unlock their seat belts at will, which allows access to the plane cabin at all times. The typical seat belt mechanisms used by the airlines include a male tongue plate portion which is inserted into the female buckle portion of the seat belt mechanism. Once the connection is made, the free end of the webbing strap which is generally secured to the female buckle end can be pulled to remove the slack. These seat belt mechanisms are of the lap belt variety. The resulting tension, or lack thereof, placed on the webbing strap is a function of each passenger's discretion. Once the male tongue plate and female buckle members of the mechanism have been connected and the tension of the webbing strap tightened across the passenger's lap, the passenger is then restrained in the seat.
When the passenger wishes to release the seat belt mechanism, a release handle on the female buckle section is lifted, thereby disengaging the tongue plate portion and releasing the male seat belt connection from the female section. This releasing operation can be conducted by a passenger or passengers at any time, and at will, during take-off, in flight, or during or upon landing of the aircraft. Therefore, current seat belt systems used by airlines do not provide any security against, for example, a potential hijacker or hijackers and/or any other disruptive or disorderly passenger or passengers. The seat belt mechanism is merely an optional safety measure by which, if used, passengers are restrained by the lap belt during periods of turbulence, take-off, landing, and prior to impending accidents or other emergency situations. Additionally, the flight crew has no way other than by visual observation of ascertaining whether any one or all of the passengers have fastened their seat belts. In this respect, the current systems involve the flight crew walking up and down the cabin aisle conducting a visual inspection of each passenger and his or her respective seat belt. This inspection does not ensure compliance, because once the flight attendant has passed any row in which a passenger is seated, the passenger can release the seat belt mechanism thereby enabling his or her access to the airplane cabin. Additionally, airplane seat belt systems currently lack any capability of involuntarily restraining an unruly or potentially dangerous passenger.